The chief executive officers of two electricity distribution companies that cater to the needs of Lagos, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) and Ikeja Electric, are women.
Folake Soetan heads Ikeja Electric while Tinuade Sanda oversees the day-to-day operations of EKEDC.
The women were not appointed at the same time. Soetan was announced as CEO of Ikeja Electric in March 2020. Sanda, however, was appointed in the same month of March but in 2022.
Soetan
Soetan joined Ikeja Electric in 2015 as deputy chief commercial officer. In a short while, she became the chief commercial officer and initiated some transformational changes in power distribution in Nigeria. She and her team introduced initiatives that helped curb energy theft, addressed issues around estimated billing, improved customer complaints resolution, and reduced commercial and collection losses.
She took another rung up the ladder in 2019, when she became chief operating officer. Soetan developed and implemented strategies to increase customer growth, and reduce energy losses associated with power distribution, optimised the technical infrastructure, increased revenues and strengthened the overall performance of the business. She was also in charge of the team that delivered the bilateral power initiative in August 2019 – a willing-buyer-willing-seller scheme, which for the first time in Nigeria, witnessed the provision of a minimum of 20 hours of power supplied through the National Grid to customers.
Soetan succeeded Anthony Youdeowei as Ikeja Electric CEO to lead a team of over 3,200 employees.
Through teamwork, the company has reduced its ATC&C losses from over 41% to as low as 24.9% in four years. The company continues to innovate and rely on technology to deliver quality and stable power supply for customers in its franchise area.
Under her, Ikeja Electric has earned the remarkable recognition of the ISO9001 & OHSAS18001 certification – a mark of the company’s commitment to high safety and quality management standards in loss reduction, innovation and customer-centricity.
Sanda
Sanda’s appointment saw her become the first female MD/CEO of the company since its establishment.
She took over from Adeoye Fadeyibi, who was at the helm of affairs for four years.
Sanda, who started her career in the banking sector, joined EKEDC in 2013 as the chief treasury and taxation officer.
She rose through the ranks to become the chief accounting officer where she contributed to the company’s growth by implementing revenue generation initiatives and overseeing critical projects.
The fashionable Sanda told PUNCH last year how she felt as the first female to be the company’s CEO. She said, “It means that hard work gets noticed. It is a call for me to do more and serve. It shows that one can be whatever one wants to be. I did not expect it but it came, and I am grateful that I am in this position. It also means that gender equality in the workplace is recognised. It means that anybody, as long as one has the qualities and criteria, can be given such an opportunity.”
In just months under her leadership, EKEDC recorded its highest levels of power distribution to its customers, its highest collection ever, and its lowest ever ATC&C losses. EKEDC also recorded a substantial reduction in work-related accidents and a marked increase in staff retention. It distributed over 46,000 meters to its customers through its Mobile MAP Initiative, while also taking delivery of 150 brand-new transformers meant for communities with shortages.
Sanda is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Institute of Management Consultants, US and Institute of Professional Financial Managers, London.
The OAU-trained graduate is also an associate member of the Risk Management Association of Nigeria and the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.
